“My mother is 100 years old, but she’s hardly senile. She lived on her own until she was 99. The only reason she came to live with me is because she forgot her bread in the toaster and set off her smoke alarm one too many times for me to feel comfortable with her staying alone. The last thing I wanted was for the authorities to show up and wonder why a woman of her age was by herself and try to send her to a home or something.”
Her mother had been receiving Meals on Wheels for some time at her last residence, and Mrs. Jacque decided to look into the program for herself as well.
“Since I have asthma and would have to cook for two, these meals just make it that much easier to get through a day. I try to watch my weight to satisfy my vanity, so it’s wonderful that they’re so healthy.”
Mrs. Jacque moved to Houston with her husband, “a true Southern gentleman,” in 1973 and stayed after he passed away due to complications from Chron’s disease. She is originally from the Syracuse, New York, and most of her children and grandchildren have settled on various parts of the East Coast.
Before she retired, Mrs. Jacque was an educator for special needs children, particularly those that were hearing impaired, for 27 years with the Houston Independent School District. She retired at 71 only because “my sons thought that I was getting too old to lift children with heavy braces. I was certainly still mentally able!” Her mother, Mrs. Jack, was a seamstress her whole life and still knits and crochets quilts for her grandchildren.
“When her oldest great-grandbaby graduates high school, she’s gonna make him a quilt with all of his school colors. If it’s lying on a bed in this house, chances are she made it (along with a good deal of my clothes)!”
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| Charlotte, Amy and Tiger Jack |
To help seniors like Mrs. Jack and her daughter stay independent, click here to donate your time or resources to Meals on Wheels.
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